UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 2nd November 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

• Recently, the Twitter handle of NASA shared an image of the sun seemingly ‘smiling’.
• Captured by the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory, the image has dark patches on the sun’s surface resembling eyes and a smile.
• NASA explained that the patches are called coronal holes, which can be seen in ultraviolet light but are typically invisible to our eyes.

Coronal holes

• These are regions on the sun’s surface from where fast solar wind gushes out into space.
• Because they contain little solar material, they have lower temperatures and thus appear much darker than their surroundings.
• Here, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind. Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months.
• The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle.
  • They can last much longer during solar minimum – a period of time when activity on the Sun is substantially diminished, according to NASA.

Significance

• As per NASA, these coronal holes are important to understanding the space environment around the earth through which our technology and astronauts travel.
  • NASA had said this in 2016 when coronal holes covering six-eight per cent of the total solar surface were spotted.
• While it is unclear what causes coronal holes, they correlate to areas on the sun where magnetic fields soar up and away, without looping back down to the surface as they do elsewhere.
• Scientists study these fast solar wind streams because they sometimes interact with earth’s magnetic field, creating what’s called a geomagnetic storm.
• These coronal holes can also cause a solar storm on Earth as they release a complex stream of solar winds.

What happens during a geomagnetic storm?

• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, geomagnetic storms relate to earth’s magnetosphere – the space around a planet that is influenced by its magnetic field.
• When a high-speed solar stream arrives at the earth, in certain circumstances it can allow energetic solar wind particles to hit the atmosphere over the poles.
• Such geomagnetic storms cause a major disturbance of the magnetosphere as there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding earth.
• In cases of a strong solar wind reaching the earth, the resulting geomagnetic storm can cause changes in the ionosphere, part of the earth’s upper atmosphere.
  • Radio and GPS signals travel through this layer of the atmosphere, and so communications can get disrupted.

Source: Indian Express

Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for preparing a roadmap to develop Mangarh Dham in Rajasthan’s Banswara district as a tribal destination with a prominent identity at the global level.
• Mangarh Dham, situated near the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, is known for massacre of tribals by the British Indian Army in 1913.

About Mangarh Massacre:

• In November 1913, soldiers of the British Indian Army fired indiscriminately on Bhil protesters who were demanding the abolition of bonded labour.
• Approximately 1,500 Bhil tribals and forest dwellers died in the incident which came to be known as the Mangarh massacre.
• The movement was led by Guru Govindgiri who raised a front against local rulers who were forcing the Bhils into unpaid labour, to pay heavy taxes and high rates of land revenue.
• According to the book 'A History of Rajasthan', Govindgiri's representatives submitted a charter of demands and a list of grievances against the Rajput States after which the British called upon the Bhils to leave Mangarh Hill before November 15, 1913.
• When that didn't happen, the princely kingdoms of nearby Dungarpur, Banswara and Sunth pressured the colonial government who then sent in the Mewar Bhil Corps to attack the Mangarh Hill.
• In 1952, an annual fair was instituted in Mangarh in memory of Guru Govindgiri and his disciples.

About Bhil Tribe:

• Bhils are considered as one of the oldest tribe in India.
• Once they were the ruler in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Malwa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
• They are a cross section of great Munda race and a wild tribe of India.
• Bhils could be identified as one of the Dravidian racial tribe of Western India and belong to Australoid group of tribes.
• They speak a language of Dravidian origin. Bhils are Hindus by religion.

Source: Indian Express

GS-II

Context

One of the biggest issues facing rural health services is lack of information. ASHA workers are the first respondents even when there is lack of access to medical aid are threatened with violence and abused on the number of occasions while handlining the prospected patients in COVID19 pandemic.

Evolution of “ASHA” you may want to know

• The ASHA programme was based on Chhattisgarh’s successful Mitanin programme, in which a Community Worker looks after 50 households.
• The ASHA was to be a local resident, looking after 200 households.
• The programme had a very robust thrust on the stage-wise development of capacity in selected areas of public health.
• Many states tried to incrementally develop the ASHA from a Community Worker to a Community Health Worker, and even to an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM)/ General Nurse and Midwife (GNM), or a Public Health Nurse.

Who are ASHA workers?

• ASHA workers are volunteers from within the community who are trained to provide information and aid people in accessing benefits of various healthcare schemes of the government.
• The role of these community health volunteers under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was first established in 2005.
• They act as a bridge connecting marginalized communities with facilities such as primary health centers, sub-centers and district hospitals.

Qualifications for ASHA Workers

• ASHAs are primarily married, widowed, or divorced women between the ages of 25 and 45 years from within the community.
• They must have good communication and leadership skills; should be literate with formal education up to Class 8, as per the programme guidelines.

What role do the ASHA Workers play? 

• Involved in Awareness programs: They go door-to-door in their designated areas creating awareness about basic nutrition, hygiene practices, and the health services available. They also counsel women about contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections.
• Ensures Mother and child health: They focus primarily on ensuring that pregnant women undergo ante-natal check-up, maintain nutrition during pregnancy, deliver at a healthcare facility, and provide post-birth training on breast-feeding and complementary nutrition of children.
• Actively involved in Immunization programs: ASHA workers are also tasked with ensuring and motivating children to get immunized.
• Providing medicines and therapies: Other than mother and childcare, ASHA workers also provide medicines daily to TB patients under directly observed treatment of the national programme. They also provide basic medicines and therapies to people under their jurisdiction such as oral rehydration solution, chloroquine for malaria, iron folic acid tablets to prevent anemia etc.
• Tasked with Screening tests: They are also tasked with screening for infections like malaria during the season. They also get people tested and get their reports for non-communicable diseases. They were tasked to quarantine the covid 19 infected patients in the pandemic.
• Informing the birth and death in respective areas:  The health volunteers are also tasked with informing their respective primary health center about any births or deaths in their designated areas.

What are the challenges that ASHA workers face?

• Lack of communication threating the job of ASHA Workers: One of the biggest issues facing rural health services is lack of information.
• Lack of resources burdening the ASHA works job: Another area of concern is the lack of resources. Over the years, with the closest hospital being 9 km away and ambulances taking hours to respond, ASHA workers had to take multiple women in labour to the hospital in auto rickshaws.
• Poor medical health facilities: Medical facilities are understaffed and lack adequate equipment for various basic procedures like deliveries. Simple tests, like for sickle cell anemia and HIV, cannot be conducted in no of respective areas of ASHA workers.
• Low wages according to the job they do: The initial payment used to be paid was Rs 250 a month in 2009. Since ASHA’s unionized and agitated for a living wage. Thirteen years on, they earn around Rs 4,000 a month. It is simply not enough to sustain a family of four.
• Covid 19 disruptions added to the existing problems: Low wages forcing ASHA’s to work two or more jobs. In the pandemic, no of women lost their husband or the means of earnings and had to revert to farming. Weather fluctuations disrupting the farm produce leaving no of ASHA’s the sole earner for the family. Those who don’t have land are living in miserable conditions.
• Delayed payments reduce the morale: Payments are also delayed by months, Desperation for work leaves us unable to focus on the groundwork we do.

What can be done to improve the work conditions of ASHA workers?

• Improving the communication channels: Channels of communication between the government and the rural population need to be robust. A deadly pandemic makes the value of these channels obvious but in order to get people on board, information needs to be sent out much more effectively and in a hands-on manner. ASHA workers play a crucial role in aiding this effort. ASHA’s can’t do this alone. They need new systems to ensure the dissemination of life-saving information in remote areas.
• ASHA’s should have fixed income: ASHA’s should have a fixed income, giving them the stability in a job where they spend between eight to twelve hours daily.
• Role needs to be formalized ensuring the dignity: ASHA’s are recognized as “volunteers” currently. Their role needs to be formalized. Recognizing them as workers provides dignity and protection, and helps them to be taken seriously, by the state, the gram panchayat responsible for the disbursal of funds, and patients.
• Recognizing and awarding their role will empower and motivate ASHA’s further: For people in villages, ASHA’s have become lifelines. They have led innumerable immunization drives and are everybody’s first call in a medical emergency. They have labored to build trust and serve as a bridge with the state. Examples shows recognition gives some leverage to circumvent the system and seek funds for people in my community.

Conclusion

ASHA’s are lifelines of rural primary healthcare, they are playing critical role on no of fronts ensuring the basic health of India. A better, stronger India is possible if ASHA’s are enabled to serve people. Giving them due recognition would serve this end, along with making rural India’s needs medical or otherwise a priority.

Source: The Hindu

Context

• The 21st Meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) was held on 01 November 2022 in the virtual format.
• The SCO CHG meeting held annually focuses on the trade and economic agenda of the Organization and approves its annual budget.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation, created in June 2001 in Shanghai (China).
• Founding members included Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• This organization represents approximately 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area and 20% of its GDP.
• SCO comprised eight member states, namely India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
  • In 2021 summit held in Dushanbe, members decided to include Iran as a full member.

Observers

• Before 2021, SCO had four observer states. This included - Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.
• In 2021, Iran became a full member and Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar were added as new observer states. Hence, currently, SCO has 6 observer states namely:
  • Afghanistan, Belarus, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar.

India’s stand at the meeting

• On connectivity projects in the SCO region
  • Connectivity projects in the SCO region should focus on the interests of Central Asian states and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.
  • India said better connectivity will unlock the economic potential of the SCO region.
  • In this context, Iran’s Chabahar port and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) could become enablers.
    • India has developed a terminal at Chabahar port and there are plans to integrate the strategic port with INSTC.
    • The port has also played a key role in the trans-shipment of goods from Russia to India following the start of the Ukraine war.
• India did not support China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
• 
  
  • India was the only SCO member state that did not reaffirm support for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in a joint communique issued after the meeting.
    • Other countries reaffirmed their support for China’s BRI and to work jointly to implement the project.
  • India has for long opposed the BRI because a key part of it – the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) - passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
• On trade with SCO members
  • Indian EAM said that our total trade with SCO Members is only $141 billion, which has potential to increase manifold.
    • The bulk of India’s trade with SCO countries is with China, which crossed $100 billion this year.
  • Fair market access is to our mutual benefit and only way to move forward.
  • He also reiterated India’s commitment to deepen multilateral cooperation in areas such as food and energy security, climate change and trade.
• On Mission LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment)
  • EAM also spoke about Mission LiFE launched by PM Modi, which envisions replacing the prevalent ‘use and dispose’ economy by a circular economy.
  • He highlighted that in 2023, the UN International Year of Millets, India intends to foster greater cooperation with SCO member states on countering the food crisis.
• On India’s ongoing chairship of the SCO
  • India assumed the chairmanship of the grouping following the summit held in Uzbekistan.
    • The 22nd Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO was held in Uzbekistan in September 2022.
    • India will host the next SCO summit (Meeting of Council of Heads of State) as a chairman of organisation in 2023.
  • This was the first meeting of the SCO since India took over the bloc’s rotating presidency.
    • The current meeting, hosted by China, was the meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Bangladesh Information Minister has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) framed to grant Indian citizenship to minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was an “internal matter” of India.

What is Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019?

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) is an act that was passed in the Parliament on December 11, 2019.
• The 2019 CAA amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 allowing Indian citizenship for religious minorities who fled from the neighboring Muslim majority countries before December 2014 due to “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution”.
• However, the Act excludes Muslims.
• Under CAA, migrants who entered India by December 31, 2014, and had suffered “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution” in their country of origin, were made eligible for citizenship by the new law.
• These type of migrants will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years.
• The amendment also relaxed the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from eleven years to five.

Key feature: Defining illegal migrants

• Illegal migrants cannot become Indian citizens in accordance with the present laws.
• Under the CAA, an illegal migrant is a foreigner who: (i) enters the country without valid travel documents like a passport and visa, or (ii) enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.
• Illegal migrants may be put in jail or deported under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

Exceptions

• The Bill provides that illegal migrants who fulfil four conditions will not be treated as illegal migrants under the Act.  The conditions are:
• They are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians;
• They are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan;
• They entered India on or before December 31, 2014;
• They are not in certain tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, or areas under the “Inner Line” permit, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

Controversy with the Act

• Country of Origin: The Act classifies migrants based on their country of origin to include only Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• Other religious minorities ignored: It is unclear why illegal migrants from only six specified religious minorities have been included in the Act.
• Defiance of purpose: India shares a border with Myanmar, which has had a history of persecution of a religious minority, the Rohingya Muslims.
• Date of Entry: It is also unclear why there is a differential treatment of migrants based on their date of entry into India, i.e., whether they entered India before or after December 31, 2014.

Why discuss this?

• The CAA became a huge cause of concern between India and Bangladesh when it was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, with Dhaka seeking a written assurance from India.
• Dhaka, then was irked by the remarks about religious persecution of minority Hindus in Bangladesh.

Source: The Hindu

GS-III

Context

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles recently appreciated the Gujarat Government for spearheading several wide-ranging initiatives to promote the Lab Grown Diamonds Sector.

About:

Initiatives:

• The government had brought in is that it has permitted 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sector under the automatic route. 
• Gujarat Government is offering 100% exemption on electricity duty for 5 years under the provisions of the electricity act. 
• According to Budget 2019-20, the GST rate has been reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.
• Interest subsidy and net SGST reimbursement upto a 100% is also being offered to MSMEs, large and mega players.

Lab-made diamonds:

• Lab-made diamonds are developed from a carbon seed placed in a microwave chamber and superheated into a glowing plasma ball.
• The process creates particles that crystallize into diamonds in weeks.
• The only difference between lab-grown diamond and natural diamond is that instead of digging the earth, it is created in a lab under a machine.
• This tech-based manufacturing directly cuts down the capital and labour-intensive factors of the mined diamond chain and so lab-grown diamonds cost 30-40 per cent cheaper than mined despite being 100 per cent diamond.
• There are two types of lab-grown diamonds –
  • CVD and
  • HPHT
• India particularly specialises and leads in the chemical vapour decomposition (CVD) technology that is certified as the purest type of diamonds.
• According to the report, the Gemological Institute of America predicted the total annual sales of laboratory diamonds will be well over $100 billion in the not too distant future, from about $20 billion today.
• This segment of the diamond is growing at an annual growth rate of 15-20 per cent.

Surat: Diamond capital:

• Nine out of 10 diamonds in the world are estimated to be polished in Surat.
• Currently, 25-30 per cent of diamond polishing units in Surat service lab-grown diamonds, with 15 per cent of units dealing only in the lab-created commodity.

Source:PIB

Context

• Recently, PM laid the foundation stone for the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara to be set up by Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).

Why is it making headlines?

• This is the first time a private sector company would be manufacturing a full aircraft in the country.
• This is a huge step forward for India in the global aircraft manufacturing domain.

What is the C-295MW transporter?

• The C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity which will replace the legacy Avro aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) procured in the 1960s.
• It was originally produced by a Spanish aircraft manufacturer.
• This company is now part of Airbus and the aircraft’s manufacturing takes place at Airbus’s plant in Spain.

Why c-295MW?

• The C-295 has very good fuel efficiency and can take off and land from short as well as unprepared runways.
• As a tactical transport aircraft, the C295 can carry troops and logistical supplies from main airfields to forward operating airfields of the country.
• It can operate from short airstrips just 2,200 feet long and can fly low-level operations for tactical missions flying at a low speed of 110 knots.
• The aircraft can additionally be used for casualty or medical evacuation, performing special missions, disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

A boost to domestic aircraft manufacturing

• Over the last two decades, Indian companies, both public and private, have steadily expanded their footprint in the global supply chains of major defence and aerospace manufacturers.
• They do supply a range of components, systems and sub-systems.

India’s collaboration with top firm

• Boeing’s sourcing from India stands at $1 billion annually, of which over 60% is in manufacturing, through a growing network of 300+ supplier partners of which over 25% are MSME.
• Tata in a joint venture (JV) with Boeing, manufactures aero-structures for its AH-64 Apache helicopter, including fuselages, etc.
• It also makes Crown and Tail-cones for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
• Similarly, Lockheed Martin has joint ventures with TASL in Hyderabad which has manufactured crucial components for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.

How this has become possible?

• The US is simplifying its export regulations for India, through a series of measures.
• As US and India together pursue the Indo-Pacific strategy and are enhancing technology prowess.

• Boost to India’s civil aviation sector

• India has a much bigger footprint in civil aviation manufacturing than defence, in addition to being a major market itself.
• Both Airbus and Boeing do significant sourcing from India for their civil programmes.
• According to Airbus every commercial aircraft manufactured by them today is partly designed and made in India.
• India now has world’s fastest-growing aviation sector and it is about to reach the top three countries in the world in terms of air traffic.
• Another major growing area is Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for which India can emerge as the regional hub.

Conclusion

The private defence sector is still nascent and a conducive and stable regulatory and policy environment will be an important enabler.

Source: Indian Express

Context

The Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir has organised a saffron festival in the Karewa of Pampore.

Saffron

• Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.
• The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food.

Kashmir Saffron

• It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) in some regions of Kashmir, including Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar.
• It has been associated with traditional Kashmiri cuisine and represents the rich cultural heritage of the region.
• Its cultivation is believed to have been introduced in Kashmir by Central Asian immigrants around 1st Century BCE. In ancient Sanskrit literature, saffron is referred to as ‘bahukam’.
• In 2020, the Centre issued a certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Saffron grown in the Kashmir Valley.

Major types

The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types —

• ‘Lachha Saffron’, with stigmas just separated from the flowers and dried without further processing;
• ‘Mongra Saffron’, in which stigmas are detached from the flower, dried in the sun and processed traditionally; and
• ‘Guchhi Saffron’, which is the same as Lachha, except that the latter’s dried stigmas are packed loosely in air-tight containers while the former has stigmas joined together in a bundle tied with a cloth thread

Whats’ so special about Kashmir Saffron?

• The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing, and high quantity of crocin (colouring strength), safranal (flavour) and picrocrocin (bitterness).
• It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m AMSL (above mean sea level), which adds to its uniqueness and differentiates it from other saffron varieties available the world over.

• Policy moves

• The National Saffron Mission (launched as a part of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana) was sanctioned by the central government in the year 2010 in order to extend support for creation of irrigation facilities.
• It seeks to facilitate farmers with tube wells and sprinkler sets which would help in production of better crops in the area of saffron production.
• North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) under Saffron Bowl Project has identified few locations in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation.

Source: The Hindu